Playing with Foxes
by otakusocial
Summary: Naruto couldn't get enough of Harriet James Potter Black. FemHarry


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

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 **Playing with Foxes**

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Naruto turned the corner to his neighborhood and was immediately greeted by the sight of his new neighbor, coughing away as she ran from the smoke that was blowing out of the front door of her house.

"Bloody hell!" The redhead coughed as she continued the wave at the air in front of her, trying to stave off the smoke from reaching her face.

Naruto approached the smaller girl, being a few heads taller than her in height. "What happened? Are you okay?"

The girl turned emerald green eyes at him, impossibly huge due to her surprise at his approach. "Oh umm..." She turned her eyes quickly to the house then back at him, her face quickly flushing pink in embarrassment. "I'm fine ─ just added something wrong to the... juice."

The answer startled a laugh out of Naruto, the girl was funny. "No really what happened."

The girl bit the bottom of her lips as her face scrunched to a cute expression of guilty embarrassment. "I wish I was."

Naruto laughed out loud, not having the willpower to suppress it and save the girl more embarrassment, but this was unreal. Never in his life had he actually met a girl that didn't know her way around the kitchen, everyone were pretty much capable of the skill, though not always tasty, it was passable for consumption. But then again his friends were all ninjas and from the looks of the girl in front of him, the civilians probably weren't all required to be well versed in the art as they enjoyed the comforts of the village and rarely had the need to go out in the wilderness and experience scavenging for food and making do of their resources to make something edible. When Naruto was finally able to wipe the tears from his eyes, he saw the irritated look on the girl's face, her strawberry pink lips in a full pout.

"I'm sorry." Naruto wasn't completely apologetic, his chuckles were still coming out in spurts. "I just never knew making juice could cause this." He waved at the smoke that was slowly dying off."Are you sure everything is okay in there?"

The girl had crossed her arms, green eyes staring at him with a bit of annoyance, and that cute pout still on her lips. She let out a sigh, blowing at a stray strand of red hair that got on her face. "Everything is fine. Just a bit of smoke, nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?" Naruto couldn't help the smirk on his face, he could do this all day if it meant seeing her pout that way. "You couldn't even manage making juice."

"Yes I'm sure." The redhead set both hands on either hip, a stubborn look on her face, and her lips ever pouting.

Naruto had to sneak a once over with the girl before him, and finding her to be very attractive. She was a few heads shorter than him, the top of her ginger head just reached his chest, and her figure was slight, and Naruto found himself casting his full shadow over her and covering her completely and then some. With her big doe green eyes, on a small face, well, she looked like a doll, and Naruto wondered if he had ever found any other woman, as feminine as her.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki by the way, I just live at the house down the block." Naruto watched as the girl before him turned to look at the house he had pointed at ─ he took his chance to admire her figure quickly before she turned back towards him, admiring the soft curves.

36-24-34?

"Harriet James Potter Black, I just moved in last week." Harriet stuck out her hand to him, Naruto's own hand engulfing her small soft one.

"Well nice to meet you Harriet." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go, smiling at her teasingly. "Don't go burning your house down, you're a fun neighbor."

Harriet reddened quickly, and if she weren't a grown woman, Naruto would have expected her to stomp her feet in indignation. But she wasn't above to trying to hit him, and so Naruto body flickered away, having anticipated her action, from the way her fingers twitched at her right hand. He watched in amusement as Harriet had turned to where he had ran off too, which was down the street on one of their neighbors stone walls fence.

"Naruto!"

"I will see you later Harriet, I have to go home now." Naruto watched as the redhead waved her fist at him, with a very rude gesture on her hand, well, she certainly was amusing.

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The redhead was on her hands and knees at one of the exterior walls surrounding Konoha. Her derriere high up in the air, clad tight in jeans that had more holes than fabric ─ though none of them were on the fun parts, not that he was a pervert, just a statement of fact ─ and swaying about in a way that was so enticing he swayed with it. The reason why she was digging in the dirt by the gate walls were completely unimportant at the moment.

"What are you doing?" Naruto frowned as the derriere sat back down on the dirt ground and away from his sight, Harriet finally having noticed his presence and turning curious and suspicious green eyes at him.

Naruto cleared his throat, hoping that he wasn't looking too guilty in the face in front of the very cute neighbor. "I think I should be the one asking that, you were the one digging away in the dirt on your hands and knees."

Harriet blushed prettily, the red hue running down her neck and disappearing into her cleavage that was amply displayed by that too big shirt. "I was just digging."

"For what exactly?" Naruto didn't want to go on full ninja interrogation mode, especially with the red head that was just looking too much like a little puppy with every second that just passed, her green eyes impossibly wide. Anyway she was just an innocent girl who didn't look like she could hurt a fly and could possibly be beaten quite thoroughly by civilian kids taught by the academy.

Harriet drew up the hand that was holding the mini shovel that one would use in gardening, and with the same hand had scratched at her forehead, miraculously not hitting herself with the trowel, and cutely leaving a piece of dirt streak on her right temple. "For rocks."

Now there really could have been anything better of an excuse to say than that ─ if she were a spy that is, but that was completely filed away as a crazy idea. But really, wasn't there a better reason out there? Like planting flowers to help the village look a little bit prettier, she seemed like the type.

"Rocks?" Naruto didn't hide his thoughts on the idea, Harriet becoming embarrassed, flustered and agitated at being clearly thought of as a weirdo. He would have corrected her and saying that she was an entirely cute and sexy weirdo, but that was for another time.

"What is so bad about wanting to dig for rocks?"

"Maybe because its rocks that you are digging up for when there are a bunch of them perfectly above ground." He gestured with his right hand at the rocks that were left untouched, unappreciated and deemed to be a liar by Harriet Black, as she thought they were anything but rocks.

"They are not the same." Harriet huffed at him, her pink lips in a perfect pout of indignation. "And you would never understand."

"I probably won't."

"Then leave me alone!" Naruto found Harriet too cute in her flustered and agitated state, eyes all blazing and her hair seeming to puff up into a mess. " I was perfectly doing fine here on my own, having a nice day─"

"Digging up rocks." It was incredulous, and he didn't really stop her from reading the whole bunch of crazy he thought she was at the moment.

"Have a good day." Harriet turned her cute nose up at him, her cheeks all flushed and her fiery green eyes glaring at him, before turning back to sticking her ass at his face as she dug on her hands and knees.

He wouldn't have been a man if he decided that this was a right time to leave a lady that was far too sexy for her own good, and one he found quite attractive in her angry state. So he sat on one giant rock that Harriet had apparently deemed unworthy for whatever it was she needed rocks for.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Harriet didn't bother looking at him over her shoulders. Not that he minded, it left him uninterrupted in his appreciation of her derriere.

"I chose to try to understand."

"I would rather you left."

"Then have me understand."

"I don't want to."

"Then I am staying."

"Fine." Harriet dug more viciously into the dirt, the trowel in her hand more precise in their strikes into the dirt.

"Fine." Naruto couldn't help the grin on his face, he was being a brat, and he would have thrown a rock at him if he were Harriet, but who was he to leave such an attractive girl that freely got on her hands and knees in front of him, and not afraid of getting dirty?

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The little redhead had been hiding from him. Well, it was more like Naruto hadn't had the pleasure of seeing her tempting behind anywhere in the village, nor did he see any smoke coming from her house recently like some sort of waking volcano. It was quite a shame, to have gone weeks without seeing her adorable face, even if it was more likely to scowl at him from the first impressions he had given her.

So, with sure steps, he walked on the little stone walkway she had laid out leading to her house, smiling at the simple garden she had planted out at the front of her house. He took a quick peak in the window, before knocking on the red door, whistling as he waited.

The door opened and Harriet peaked her head out, green eyes filled with curiosity at the idea of a visitor before frowning at the sight of him. "You."

"That's not very nice, here I was offering you a welcome to the neighborhood present and this is the reception I get?" Naruto gave her his own pout, playing up his best puppy blue eyes at Harriet.

Harriet looked at his empty hands, "You brought nothing."

"I brought myself." Naruto smiled wider when Harriet quirked a single brow up at his statement. "I've just come to help you with cooking, seeing as your last attempt was very smokey."

"That was juice."

"Precisely." Naruto gestured with his head towards the door, enjoying all the thoughts that passed through her face that he could clearly read. It was nice, to see such open expression, and not have to really guess at anything. "Can you pass up a free meal?"

"With my groceries?" Harriet opened the door either way, making room for him to walk in. "You're doing the dishes."

"Easy." Naruto looked around. The house seemed a little bit more spacious than he expected, but maybe he just gauged the size of the house wrong, it was quite interestingly decorated.

There were many portraits and paintings around the house, some of them looked like family portraits, a couple he had assumed to be her parents hung over a stone fireplace ─ the father though seemed to be unhappy in the portrait, while the replica of Harriet was smiling brightly. A family of gingers that looking nothing like Harriet, hung beside it, a big happy family that seemed to have been painted in mid wave motion. There were a few portraits of two men, one elderly and smiling with twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the other was a gloomy man with dark hair, and a sour expression, that Naruto believed was somehow related to an Uchiha. There were a few more portraits around, one with the same ginger man in the family portrait, with a curly haired girl, smiling widely. A few more pictures hung on the wall, but they were black and white, of all different shapes and sizes with mismatching frames hanging throughout the room walls. Two large elaborate couches ─ reminding Naruto of those couches he saw at the northern countries Daimyo's court, making Naruto wonder if Harriet was somehow related to nobility ─ and a glass coffee table was settled in the middle of the living room, with a few trunks and books that served as tables for lamps and a tea set. There was also a tapestry on one wall that seemed to be a family tree, Naruto touched on a scorched face on the tapestry, wondering which Black descendant was bad enough to be burned off the family line.

Even though the house was decorated with foreign items, and what seemed to be antiques, making it feel partially like a museum, it had a few items that reminded Naruto that yes they were still in Konoha, even though the house he currently was in boasted of a different civilization, and possibly different station in life. there were a few scrolls, a few ink and brush, a few papers though had symbols that reminded Naruto of seals but they were more geometrical in shape instead of asian characters.

A melodic chime of bells rang throughout the house, drawing Naruto's attention to a clock that didn't tell the time at all, it had multiple hands with some of the faces that Naruto recognized from the portraits and pictures, and the place where the numbers for the time was supposed to be, was replaced by words that depicted places or current state ─ but Naruto didn't know what to make of 'Mortal Peril' as one of the options on the clock. It was a little morbid, for a non ninja. Naruto thought it would be handy for the Hokage to have ─ if it worked and was more than just an interesting conversation piece that is.

"Here I thought you came for me." Harriet was sitting on the couch, teacup in her delicate hand, pinky slightly curved as she held it on its handle. Naruto dragged his eyes from her delicate bare feet, up her creamy white legs, lace black shorts that he knew were snug around her derriere ─ from when he looked earlier following her in the house, he was a man after all ─ and a deep v neck thin knit sweater that showed a gentle curve of a breast if she leaned in certain ways. Naruto enjoyed watching her, even if it was to just sip on tea.

"Well I am." Naruto took a moment to enjoy the blush that dusted over her cheeks, he was intrigued when the color flushed down her slender neck all the way to the top of her breasts. "Wanted to make sure you were fed well."

Harriet grumbled something behind her tea and Naruto, even with his enhanced hearing couldn't catch it ─ all he could wrongfully make out was something about elves, but that was crazy.

"What was that?"

Harriet turned her green eyes to him, still wide and doe eyed, trying to seem innocent and not like someone who had secrets. "The kitchen is down the hall, I think you will be able to manage."

"Aren't you going to watch me cook? Learn something interesting and helpful." Naruto leaned on one of the book towers that littered the hardwood floors.

"If I recall correctly, you said this was a welcome gift, you make the dinner and I enjoy it." Harriet smiled at him over her tea cup.

Naruto body flickered beside her and hauled her up off the couch, ignoring her shriek of surprise as he started walking to the kitchen, following his nose to lead the way. Harriet thankfully wasn't flailing about, one arm slung around his shoulder while the other tried to keep her teacup in her hand, thankfully there wasn't much left in it ─ even if he had experienced greater pain than a hot water burn, he didn't want to go through it. He breathed in her scent, lightly brushing his nose against her hair and the side of her neck, enjoying the scent of apple cinnamon, ink and parchment on her skin, and there was a tiny hint of smoke and fire ─ he chuckled lightly at the thought of her making a ridiculous situation out of the simple act of cooking.

Harriet shuffled in his arms, a gentle and effective reminder to Naruto that he had a very attractive woman nestled comfortably in his arms and feeling quite pleasant against him. "The kitchen is the door to your right." She whispered against his ear, her soft breath causing a shiver down his spine. "You better cook well ─ in fact I expect it to be an exhilarating experience."

"You will enjoy it, less so than the company though." Naruto intentionally butting his nose in her hair, bringing his mouth close to her ear so his lips brushed against the delicate skin, and smirking when he felt her shiver in response. The kitchen was of the same decor as her living room, though there were a few empty paintings, canvases completely colored black, and there were a few funny ones where some of the few people in her other paintings in the living room were gathered together in a huddle like sharing a secret. There was one of the same man looking sternly at his direction ─ but paintings tend to give an impression that they are looking at you ─ arms crossed and looking more intimidating than the last picture. The man probably didn't like having his portrait done, but you'd think he would give a more appealing image to be immortalized on canvas. the kitchen though was colored white compared to the dark color scheme of the living area. There only things dark were the stone slab countertops, the dark chocolate hardwood floors that ran throughout the main floor and the bar stools that were made of dark industrial pipes and what looked like a barrel top cover as the seat. There were great big floor to ceiling windows at the far wall that overlooked her backyard, and where a dark lamp lantern chandelier hung over a circular breakfast table with ornate snakes twisted into a shape that would resemble chairs.

"Is that what all the girls say?" Harriet looked him directly in the eye as he set her down on the stool by the kitchen bar.

Naruto smirked at her foxily, eyes wagging at her. "Actually yes. But there hasn't been that many girls."

"I doubt that."

Naruto started going through the kitchen, gathering his supplies with the guidance of Harriet, for the items that were kept in the closed cupboards, the ones with the clear windows were easy to find, and it wasn't like all her items were kept in cupboards; the pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling on long metal hooks, along with the vegetables and herbs that seemed to be growing from the ceiling and hanging off them; some of her simpler plates and cutlery were stuck on the wall like wall art; her fine china and silverware were stored properly in the glass cupboards. There were plenty of cookbooks that were either stacked on the floor in a towering pile, and some were in a crooked bookshelf on the wall ─ a testimony of women not being good with handiwork, but that might just apply to civilian women. He found it a little cute actually.

"Did that take you long?" Naruto gestured with his head towards the crooked shelves on the opposite wall, right below the numerous paintings and photographs.

Harriet blushed prettily before coughing and turning back to him with as much dignity as one could have after being judged on their not so fantastic work. "It was my first time, and it works, so I am fine with that."

"I could fix that up for you if you want." Naruto offered, rummaging through her fridge for some meats, before grabbing some tomatoes and parsley hanging from her ceiling. It was quite pretty, especially with the lantern ceiling lights she had peaking through the many vegetation on her ceiling. He turned on the stove top, quite excited to be using a gas top.

Harriet looked at her shelf, a fond smile on her face. "I quite like it, so if you don't mind stopping yourself from insulting it."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at her as he heated the cast iron pan on the fire. "Didn't mean to be, just thought you would want to have it leveled a little bit…" Like how everyone else preferred level shelving ─ but then her books weren't really toppling off the shelf, and it did add a bit of quirk to her slightly more regal decor of her house, if you excuse the clutter.

"Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" Naruto continued to cut tomato slices, a smirk thrown her way, waiting to see how she would react to his covert demand.

"You need permission now?"

"Well my hands are busy, so I was thinking you could get it and serve me."

"Really?" Harriet dragged a finger over the rim of her teacup, a fine red brow rose in question, and in slight audacity at his demanding request.

"I'm making you something that would be really good to your palate."

"I'll give you tea."

"I'll accept that."

Naruto watched Harriet hop off the stool, walking in that feminine way of hers, that just swung her hips slowly from side to side ─ not exaggerated in any way, it was just the natural motion of her generous hips. And that derriere. Naruto turned back to his chopping of tomatoes, only to have run out and he quickly grabbed a potato to start working on fine potato slices that he was going to bake.

"Here you go." Harriet set the tea in front of him. And Naruto just stared at it, doing nothing but look at her green eyes expectantly as he continued to chop the potatoes, before grabbing some carrots and continuing with those. "Really?" There was a hint of exasperation ─ well maybe more than a hint.

"My hands are busy, and I'm really thirsty."

Harriet rolled her eyes, and carefully drew the tea cup to his lips, The heat of the hot water wasn't as harsh as he expected it to be, but it was definitely just plain loose leaf tea. Once he drank the last drop, the tea cup was quickly drawn away from him and Harriet looked in it.

"Did you just poison me?" Not that any poison would ever kill him.

Harriet continued to ignore him, tilting the teacup side to side, and spinning it in a circle before looking at him and then into the cup.

He was curious. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking."

"At tea leaves?"

"It's something I do."

"So aside from digging rocks, burning juice, and shabby shelf building, you do fortune telling too?"

"I should have poisoned you." Harriet grumbled at him, her eyes still on the teacup she had stolen from him earlier.

Even if it was crazy, and that she was obviously a little crazy, Naruto waited for her to explain away what it was she was trying to see. But Harriet was obviously done with the subject and had set his teacup aside, no longer interested in it. Instead she had took her old teacup, before shaking her head and resumed to just watch him lazily as he continued with his cooking.

"You're making me curious, you should tell me before I start using some ninja tricks on you." Naruto lessened the heat of the fire, before he went about taking some plates and cutlery from the wall. and a few wine glasses that were stacked stored under the honeycomb shelving for her collection of wines.

"You won't hurt me." Harriet sounded quite sure of it.

"Who said anything about hurting you?" Naruto wagged his eyebrows playfully at her, completely appreciating the way her cheeks darkened to a cherry red, and flushing all the way down to her neck like it always did.

He earned that tomato to the face.

"You are a pervert." Harriet huffed at him.

"You're the one thinking the dirty thoughts, I was only planning to tickle you till you spilled all your secrets."

"Yeah right." Harriet nudged the teacup away, her face flushing a little bit darker as she did so.

He grinned wickedly at her, it couldn't be what he thought it was. He didn't believe in fortune telling, but who could pass this up? "Should I be making an indecent proposal?"

Where the hell did that second tomato come from?

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Harriet never served him tea again, we'll more like she never looked at what was shown with his tea leaves after he finished drinking the tea he made himself. He wondered if he was doing it wrong and only Harriet would be the only one that could make the right tea in the right way that would be able to tell fortunes. Either way she didn't make him tea anymore and he began to enjoy them ─ now he was in some fancy store that sold tea leaves of different flavors and a variety of mixes. There was chocolate in some of the tea flavors and Naruto wondered if it affected your future in anyway. But this was tea leaves fortune telling, it doesn't really make things happen.

He smelt the tin that held the tea with the chocolates in it. Harriet needed some more variety to her teas, she just had Earl Grey or Green Tea, she needed a little variety, he needed a little variety. Naruto scooped a few of the berry chocolate tea flavor into the glass container the store provided for sale, before making his way to the cash register. He smiled at the blushing sales lady, paid the fee and walked out of the shop when a head of red hair caught his eye.

Naruto smiled as he appreciated the view of Harriet Black as she walked, it was an art really ─ slow sway of her hips, the shifting muscles of her plump behind, as each long slender leg moved one foot in front of the other like a dance almost. Women didn't walk like her, at least when they walked like her it was a seduction, hers was just natural charms.

Naruto smirked as an idea came to mind, he would definitely get an earful, but it would be fun to see her all flushed. He body flickered to the alley way that was coming up in her direction, and jumped out to give her a little scare. And he didn't know how this was a good idea at all to surprise a young attractive lady.

Because it wasn't a good idea.

"Oh my god Naruto, I am so sorry!" Harriet didn't sound all that much sorry to his ears.

Naruto turned to look up at her, his whole body feeling like stone and not in his control at all. The only thing he could move was his eyes, and all he could do was stare at Harriet as she started babbling apologies but they weren't quite meeting her eyes ─ her eyes said he deserved it, which he did, but he didn't expect her to pull such a move. He never felt anything higher than a chakra level of a civilian from her. So how she did this ─ well he didn't know but, suspecting that the paper stuck on his forehead was anything to go by, it might be a seal, but how she did that even was a mystery. Maybe he was slacking, or she just successfully distracted him enough that he just allowed a pretty lady's to touch him ─ who wouldn't?

Harriet took the paper off his forehead, allowing Naruto to get up with as much dignity as he could, being savior of the world that was just thoroughly defeated and bound by a girl half his weight and size. Naruto grabbed hold of the paper in her hand, trying to read the seal that was written on it, only to find that it was a little foreign compared to the seals he usually did or was found in the Elemental nations. There wasn't anything really familiar he could decipher from the work.

"What is this?" Naruto inspected the paper in all sides and tried to feel for any chakra on the paper, but being careful to not have any of his own leak into the paper in case it did what it did before. "Is this how you bound me?" Naruto let out a bit of his sage mode, to wild the nature chakra around him to see if there was any truth or lies from the little red head.

Harriet nodded without any hesitation, she lifted her right arm towards him, showcasing a black bracelet made of black pearls with with lone charm of a circle within a triangle and both being divided by a line. "This is a charm I made that provides protection."

"A charm? Are you a seals mistress?" It wasn't an outright lie that he found from her, but she definitely wasn't telling everything she knew. But no seals mistress would share all their secrets.

"I am no expert, but that's what I do, and some." Harriet indicated to the store that she was heading to earlier, before he had rudely and in a joking matter tried to scare the whits out of her. "I can show you a few things, come."

Naruto followed her towards the new store that opened in Konoha about the same time that Harriet had moved in. A few civilians had actually talked about this, and Ichiraku and Ayame had spoken to him about this store a few times about some seals and charms they had brought to bring good luck peace and harmony to their store and home.

A small bell chime rang throughout the store, it was decorated the same way as her house, filled with a lot of old books, on a shelf behind a counter that seemed to be where she also made drinks ─ he wasn't too sure what kind of drinks she would be selling in a store that were filled with jars of eyeballs, skins of animals and reptiles, a few slugs and insects, and some numerous bottles of unidentified liquids. There were a few familiar paintings on the walls throughout the store, and he wondered how many copies of paintings she had to have so many of the same people she had in her home as well. So far she could tell there were at least three, but he hadn't really gone through all the rooms in her home. There might be more there. there were a few tables around the shop that had parchment and ink littered over one, and the other table filled with chisels and a few stones ─ which Harriet had pointed out at him as they passed it by─ gems and crystals on the other. He peaked at one book that was open on one of the tables, it was written in a language he couldn't understand, but he recognized one of the symbols as what he had found on the paper that was stuck to his forehead.

"Are these some seals you are working on?" Naruto took a hold of one gem where he could see a little etching of a seal that was in the open book ─ how she got that silver etching inside the stone he didn't know, but something he was quite interested in learning. He took note that there were a few jewel's in the store, and figured that she was selling these charms of hers in that way ─ it was an interesting idea, and would be very easy to sneak in through enemy territory if they didn't know that a seal was inside a jewel, especially with undetectable chakra that powered the seal.

"Yes, that's for health and protection." Harriet pursed her lips as she looked at the little jewel between his fingers. "I've been trying to put more power into it, to make it more effective, but so far it can only give a boost of health in regards to immunity and protecting people from minor injuries."

"I've never heard of that kind of seal before." Naruto looked at a few more of the jewels and stones on the table, some had different symbols on them, some he recognized to be symbol of protection and health that she had told him about earlier from the first jewel.

"I doubt you would, it's something only a few people are taught." Harriet arranged the piles that he had disturbed with his curiosity.

"Would you be able to teach me?"

"You won't really be able to do it the way I do," Harriet's cute nose wrinkled in deep thought. "Your method of sealing is different than mine ─ at least when it comes to test charms."

"Is it like a bloodline?"

"Something like that." Harriet wandered over to the counter where most of the juices were kept behind, probably to start her work day.

"So what is similar to mine?"

"Well I've got a few storage seals around." Harriet pointed at a stack of old trunks that were piled high in one corner of the store ─ Naruto found it a little bit of a hazard, but miraculously, as Harriet pulled one out of the pile, it didn't topple over like dominoes.

"I mostly cater to the civilian side of things, so I don't know how you ninjas would respond to these kind of items."

"Well it's not convenient for travel." And if that was a storage seal, we'll it surely failed in convenience. It didn't seem to hide anything or make you carry anything in convenience. He wondered if she was some sort of con to civilians.

"Well there is a shrinking seal on it, it just needs to be keyed in with the user." Harriet opened the trunk and Naruto was forced to swallow back his thoughts and skepticism about the trunk.

He leaned in and could swear that there was an echo of his surprise. It was like seeing the inside of a storage scroll if it was a possibility, which seemed to be what Harriet had achieved with this little work of art of hers. The trunk was two floors high, or deep, filled with empty bookshelves that lined the four walls inside of the trunk, and a ladder that would help you get down into the trunk to access those in between and in the bottom. It was a little inconvenient to have to grab a scroll by physically going to the bottom of the storage, but it was still pure genius. This would definitely be handy for civilians, the amount of space you could save in cutting with baggage costs, and it could be considered travelling light if all you needed was this one trunk for a family of ten.

Naruto whipped his head towards Harriet, ignoring the smug smile on her face. So he was a little skeptical and didn't really hide it in the beginning, so what, he was admitting defeat now and will grovel at her feet to learn her ways. "How do you deal with the weight? And is there a way to grab the items without going all the way down to the bottom to search for it?"

"The weightless charm is a standard for all these trunks ─ so it would never be heavy no matter how full you make it. The summoning charm is an upgrade though and would be a little more pricey."

"Summoning charm?" Harriet couldn't possibly have found the secret to summoning scrolls and possibly be making new summoning contracts for different animals is she? Naruto had to bite his lip not to blurt out his curiosity and sound extremely stupid, because there was no way anyone could do that. It was just impossible. Improbable.

"Yes, it's a rune I worked on that would allow for the user to summon the object they are thinking of and have it be available to them in a designated slot on the top shelf. That was a really difficult piece of work, to have to convert a bloodline skill into a set of runes for use for the general public." Harriet turned green eyes to him. "Would this be something that would be helpful to ninjas?"

"Well it would have to be portable, if you have something smaller─"

"I guess I would need to add the shrinking charm then." Harriet nodded her head, already set on putting the extra work.

"So what are those drinks you have there in the back?"

"Those are some remedies that I've made. Still catering to civilians but it's like a more... natural approach to health and wellbeing."

Naruto was a little disturbed at the her idea of natural if the ingredients found in her store was any indication. "What are some of them anyway?"

"Well there is a pepper up potion, dreamless sleep, a few antidotes for poisons, calming draught, and some harmless love potions."

"Love Potions?"

"Don't knock it, it's actually quite popular with the teenagers ─ it's nothing serious, it just makes you confident into confessing that's all, it doesn't make anyone fall in love with you."

"Do you read tea leaves about their love life too?"

"Do you want me to electrocute you?"

Naruto waved his hands in surrender. "Are all those things in it?" Naruto pointed over to the eyeballs that were floating in some clear yellow liquid.

"Do you really want to know?"

Naruto shook his head, hoping that Harriet didn't mix any of those things into his tea. Naruto looked around the store, noting that there were a few clocks that didn't tell time hanging from the ceiling, along with a long rope that held a few talismans, and a multitude of wind chimes made of crystals hanging from the ceiling. He could tell that there were some etchings of those symbols she had in the book. She was gifted in seals that was for sure, and if it worked as well as the bracelet she had on her person, well she would be the talk of the elemental nations in no time. There hadn't been a seals mistress in her caliber or even with her innovation with its use.

"You should be careful."

"What do you mean?" Curious green eyes turned to him.

"Not a lot of people can do the things you can do."

"I already know that." Harriet went about arranging the books on the shelf behind the counter.

"I'm serious ─ it might be a time of peace but no one would hesitate to steal you."

"Steal me?" A delicate red brow lifted in the air. "I highly doubt that."

"It's a possibility, I'm saying to just be careful." Naruto watched as she played with the black bracelet around her delicate wrist.

"So have you decided what to buy?"

"Who says I want to buy anything?"

Silence. Just a smiling face resting on her delicate hands, waiting patiently.

"Fine how much are those trunks?"

"What kind?"

"The one with all the tricks." He wanted to know how she did it.

.

.

"Where are all your stuff?" Shikamaru looked around the empty apartment. Naruto for one thing had a very cluttered apartment filled with a lot of junk from his travels and all the things he had bought during his childhood ─ which wasn't much, but wasn't really anything of value, but Naruto never threw anything away. So to step into an empty apartment, well, it got him wondering.

"I don't believe it myself but it's in this crazy trunk." Naruto kicked at the trunk the size of a shoebox, his way. Shikamaru thought Naruto was off his rocker, but he humored him anyway and lifted the trunk of the box only for it to be an impossible let feat.

"Are you pranking me?" He stopped his attempt, squatting beside the trunk and looking at Naruto with a not so amused look on his face.

"It recognizes only the signature of the owner. Here." Naruto squatted beside him and placed his hand on top of the box where two glowing symbols appeared before his hand. he pressed two of the symbols and Shikamaru watched as the trunk grew bigger in size, resembling more of a decent sized luggage bag and the top lid was easily pulled open.

Shikamaru looked within the trunk, only to look at Naruto and back again inside the trunk. "Is this for real?"

"I tested this out myself and it's for fucking real."

"Your whole place is inside." Shikamaru felt for the walls inside the trunk and it was tangible, so he couldn't understand the concept of the bat Tom of the trunk being so deep and expanding to the size where Naruto''s living space was neatly arranged to resemble the outlay of the furniture had it been in his actual apartment. "Did you go down there?"

"I even slept in there."

"How is this even possible."

"I can only guess it's a more physical space of the inner workings of a storage scroll. But how that was done I don't know. I tried to decipher the etchings of the seals but it's impossible and there really was nothing else I could find on this damn thing to explain this pocket of dimension and expandable space within this tiny box that equals the space of my entire apartment."

"How did you even get your furniture in there?"

"It was like swallowed. I tried not blinking and it just went in no problem no matter the size it just fits right in without change of shape or anything it just went in." Naruto was sounding a bit hysterical at the whole concept. He couldn't blame the man, he was a seals expert and here was a box that shouldn't be possible, being possible in front of him doing impossible things that couldn't be proved false.

Shikamaru probed at the box, feeling no chakra source that would indicate where the energy was coming from to make this happen. "Where did you get this?"

"Cupboard Under the Stairs."

"You don't have stairs."

Naruto gave him an irritated look. Guess he wasn't allowed to play stupid. "It's that new store that opened up."

"The one that's run by that hot red head?"

"She's off limits ─ and yes that one."

"You're not dating her."

"She just made this thing possible, I'm halfway in love already."

"Seals don't equal love."

"I can just give her some love potions."

Shikamaru snorted. "Ino and Sakura were talking about that. Apparently they learned from Ayame about that love potion ─ cupids candy or something ─ and it apparently worked on Iruka, so now they have been looking for it but so far they haven't had any luck, no stock, which is good, can you imagine those two getting a drop of that poison."

"It doesn't make people fall in love, it just gives them courage to confess like some placebo." Naruto explained as he once more looked around the spacious trunk. "But it might kick start her in the right direction by confessing to me."

"I don't think things will go as you planned."

"Why?"

"Well Genma has been sniffing around her ever since she's doing that commission with the Hokage."

Shikamaru found himself alone in the empty apartment.

.

.

"Naruto aren't you out of funds by now?" Harriet greeted him from behind the counter, a smoking cauldron in front of her as she stirred away.

"Not here to buy anything today, just coming by to see what you were up to." Naruto looked around the store and was glad to note that there wasn't any brown haired senbon user. He leaned on the counter, trying to look into the black pot, when Harriet pushed him gently away from it ─ well it seemed gentle to him, but he was pretty sure she was using all her strength behind it. Either way, he gave way for the little red head. "You're doing something for the Hokage?"

Emerald green eyes looked at him. "Have you been snooping on me?"

"People talk about you ─ can't help it if they all find you attractive." Naruto would have appreciated that blush that travelled all the way down the top of her breast ─ did she always have such deep v neck shirts? ─ but apparently everyone was appreciating her as well, so it dampened his mood, only a little, he was still a man.

"I'm just something new to look at." Harriet continued to stir the purplish concoction in the iron pot.

"An attractive new woman to look at." Naruto rested his arms on the counter. Looking from a far in the cauldron, knowing that Harriet didn't want him near it with all the warning looks she was giving him. "What is that one for?"

"Grows bones."

"Growing bones?" Naruto wondered if she was pulling his leg or actually serious. There never seemed to be any joking with her when it came to the things she cooked in the store. Not that he ever tried any of them. She did try to push one of those pepper up potions to him one day when she found out he was going on a mission ─ which he refused because he didn't need a potion to boost his energy when he had Kurama.

"Yes." Harriet tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear, that apparently escaped being caught in the position trail she had her hair in today. "The Hokage wants a demonstration as well, so I won't be able to spend much time with you ─"

"I'll go with you." Naruto grinned widely at her as she just turned her green eyes at him, red brows furrowed and her cute button nose all crinkled in her irritation.

"I'm running a business here." She continued to stir, but Naruto could see the certain twitch at the corner of her cherry colored lip, trying to stop herself from scowling at him.

"I know that."

"Then you are not allowed to join me."

"I'm the candidate for the next Hokage."

Harriet turned to him, sharp green eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion. "I thought that was Kakashi?"

Naruto sputtered in his surprise at her even knowing that it was technically Kakashi next as Hokage when Tsunade stepped down, but for her to know Kakashi and calling him by first name. "How do you know that?"

"He's been by a few times ─ you're not the only one fascinated with my work." Harriet set the ladle down on the side, and turning the fire lower with just a swipe of her finger on the seal paper underneath. Another trick of her that he needed to figure out how she did.

"You know he's a pervert?" So, that wasn't so subtle in swaying her attentions away from Kakashi.

"It's just literature."

"Are you serious right now?"

"I've shared a house with five boys, what Kakashi is doing is nothing."

Five boys. "You shared a house with five boys?"

"Only during the summer time, between school semesters." Harriet smirked at him. "Who's the pervert now?"

Naruto hoped the flush on his cheeks weren't that obvious, he couldn't help his thoughts wandering to inappropriate places when she mentioned shacking up with five boys ─ what do boys do around attractive women? He wouldn't pass her up. It may have just been an innocent gathering of friends. Or at least not everyone was in game. Not that the idea of her being accepting of shadow clones was a bad thing. But he couldn't lose to this woman. She was the only one allowed go blush all the way down her chest and wherever it wanted to travel beneath her clothes and on her body.

"Well if you're open to the idea of shadow clones, we'll I'm okay with that." He wagged his brows at her wickedly, loving the way she blushed, throwing the ladle to his face, which of course he dodged.

"Either way you're not allowed to come with me."

Naruto could swear that there was something moving on the wall of the room, but all he could see were the paintings, that seemed to change everyday. She had the strangest collection of paintings of certain members of her family, and there were multiple copies of the same people doing different things like a picture was taken instead of paint on canvas ─ this time the brown eyes man was scowling as always, with a handsome dark haired blue grey eyed man, seeming to be laughing his as off, draped over the man's shoulder. "You're dad always looks so angry ─ doesn't he like having his paintings taken."

"It's more like he doesn't like you, you damn pervert." Harriet grabbed a few bottles that looked like skulls, and started transferring the potion into it.

"Are you trying to say that your father can see us right now?" There was just no boundaries to her.

"I'm just saying that the walls have eyes." Harriet said it plainly, like it wasn't strange to talk about paintings actually could see, and that the idiom was referring to paintings instead of spies.

"He's a painting." Did he really need to emphasize that.

"One of these days." Harriet looked at him like he was the one crazy. "Either way, your actions are being judged by my family."

"You are something."

"You really have nothing nice to say about me do you?"

"I call you beautiful all the time."

"Shut up."

.

.

Naruto scowled as he spotted Harriet laughing at whatever the stupid thing that Genma could have possibly said ─ he doubted it was anything really funny, and he should just save Harriet from having to go through polite social etiquette.

"Harriet, how are you doing?"

Harriet turned that smiling face towards him, and she was too beautiful to be showing that around to anyone else. So he might have stepped a little closer, and he might have let a bit of red chakra loose... might have.

"Good afternoon Naruto," Harriet had to tilt her head up a bit at him, showing him a nice angle of her neck down to the little valley between her breast. "Genma here was just showing me to one of the best places to eat."

"Well I'm glad I arrived just in time." He brought his head down, close to her ear so that his lips would brush against the soft shell of skin. It was purely intentional and he made sure Genma knew she was off limits. "He would have lied to you, only I know the best restaurant in this place."

"Ichiraku doesn't count." the older joining tried to step close to Harriet, but Naruto anticipated that and had brought the redhead close to his side, completely unaware as she was still getting over with what he just did earlier.

"Ramen is for the gods." Naruto turned to look at Harriet closely, forcing her to look him in the eye, having drawn close to her face so she could only ever see him. He wasn't playing fair, having her just see and feel him and overwhelm her with his presence that Harriet could only and would only ever see him ─ it's how things worked out here. "Wouldn't you want a meal that's served with all the love and dedication of an old man who's spent years perfecting a flavor that can touch the soul?"

"It's Ramen." Of course Genma wouldn't understand, he liked the taste of senbon.

"It's art ─ and they've always kept me fed when I was hungry, of course it's my favorite restaurant."

"So it's more than just Ramen." Harriet was really small in his arms, her shoulders felt tucked completely into his arms with no trouble, body easily manipulated to be snug against his own.

"I want to show you my family." It may be taken as a move. But he did. He did want the old man to see the girl that he fancied.

"Not just to make Genma leave?" Harriet had her arms crossed under her breasts.

"He left? I thought he wanted to eat."

Green eyes just continued to stare at him.

"Stay and eat with me?"

"Well you just scared off my date, so why not."

"You actually said yes to him?"

"I was hungry."

.

.

Naruto ignored Harriet's pointed look as once again he had arrived at her house with no warning from him, just knowing that he had an open invitation ─ well more like Harriet wasn't ever going to reject him, at least she never had rejected him with the countless times he had invited himself over ─ so he took advantage of it.

"I should stop assuming that you would learn manners and actually call ahead or even wait for me to invite you over." Harriet didnt bother getting up, just watched him prepare himself his own tea, just as he had grown to like it ─ two sugars and one spot of cream.

"You like having me over." Naruto took a sip of the berry chocolate tea that he had bought for her earlier. "So until you tell me to stop."

"Stop."

"You don't mean it."

"You never take me seriously."

"Because you are never serious."

Harriet looked at him closely, before bursting out into laughter which left Naruto quite confused and once again wondering how a beautiful girl like her could ever be this strange ─ but damn the whole world if he didn't find her even more attractive because of that.

Harriet shook her head as she tried to stifle her laughter. "I can't believe this is happening to me."

"That a handsome man as myself found such a crazy girl attractive?" Naruto snorted. "I don't understand it either, but apparently it runs in the family."

"What?" Harriet tilted her head to the side, her long golden red locks falling off her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"My dad." Naruto thought back on the days that Jiraiya had told him about how his mother and father had met and finally ended up together. "He liked my mother who was just like you ─ not crazy, but definitely had her quirks."

"She was a loud mouth, had a huge temper, got into trouble more than anyone, played as many pranks as she could on those that had upset her ─ all in good humor ─ was completely unlady like, well up until my father ─ or more like my mother actually, finally caught him and they got married." Naruto smiled at the memory.

"Well our situation is kind of the same."

"So we are in a situation of some sort."

Harriet lifted a brow at him."If you don't want to listen about my family─"

"No, continue, it's only fair."

Harriet looked at him, arranging herself more comfortably on the dark couch. "Well my dad was like your mother, but he was more rambunctious like any boy, and quite a bully actually─"

"I can see that." Naruto looked at the man in the painting, who couldn't stop glaring at him, while Harriet's mother just looked fondly at him, while holding a sort of death grip on the mans hand. He could swear that that painting wasn't like that before.

"Do you want to tell the story?"

"I like hearing your voice," Naruto smiled a tthe blush that sprinkled on her cheeks. "So continue."

Harriet took a sip of her tea. "He was really insistent in pursuing my mother, never wavering, even when there were times where she definitely hated him for being an immature boy that used his popularity to hurt people."

"He wasn't very nice was he?"

"He was... he was just immature." Harriet looked at her parent's portrait fondly. "It was on one day that my father had noticed they had gone too far in one of their pranks that he straightened his ways ─ he still pursued my mother, but in a more refined way, and showed her that he had become a better man. Which he was."

"Are you telling me to change?"

"I'm telling you to stop ruining my dates with other men."

"I wouldn't ruin your dates if it were with me."

"You are such a child." Harriet threw him a look. "You haven't even asked me out properly."

"I have asked you out plenty of times."

"Hijacking my dates, isn't asking me out."

"Go out with me."

"No." Harriet pouted in that cute way of hers, now he knew she was upset, but he couldn't still help finding her cute.

"Why not?"

"I'm angry right now." Harriet glared at him with her emerlad eyes before turning her nose up at him and looking away.

Naruto watched as Harriet's cheeks burned apple red as he had kissed her on the lips. Her wide green eyes looking into his with much surprise. He drew away, looking at her bruised mouth, before looking back into her eyes. "Are you happy now?"

"I ought to slap you."

"Go out with me Harriet James Potter Black, I think we're meant for each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because there's a fox in your tea."

.

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 **The End**

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 **Finally. It took a while to have this written out. Hopefully you guys liked it.**


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